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Leighton
As I came out of my workshop stretching, I thought of the last time I’d set foot outside.
Ah, yes. Three days ago.
My sad Baby Sis Roberta. She’d always wanted a cat as a kid, and our parents wouldn’t agree until she got a part-time job as a junior in high school and not only had money to buy the cat herself but to always pay for the cat's food, litter, and veterinary care.
Roberta had loved that kitty cat all these years, but it had been quite ill lately. We knew that she’d tried and tried to heal her, but finally had to face the facts: It was off to the vet's office for them to put her kitty down.
She didn’t need to ask for me to go with her. I’d expected it would be me or Big Sis. Moral support in our family was a thing that went without saying. We were there for each other. No discussion.
She cried and cried, so my first stop, right now, needed to be to check on her. She was in a meeting. Oh, well.
After our trip to the vet, the rest of this week had been so busy. I was fine-tuning three inventions at a time. I loved that. My dream come true.
My team had already identified potential clients for each of them. But as usual, I made them wait until my testing was complete. I wasn't one of those product creators who let the first users get the bugs out. Oh, no!
But I was never so busy that Samantha, the beautiful baker, didn't invade my thoughts. I thought about my parents. The way they looked at each other with such love, trust, respect, and deep affection. Their picture would be in the dictionary underRomantic Love. It oozed subliminally into me: I wanted a partner in my life who looked at me like that. Every day. Every minute. All the years of our lives together.
Big Sis had teased our parents a couple of years ago, “You two have ruined us for marriage. We want what you have! But it’s rare to non-existent!”
I nurtured hope, though. I think that my sisters did, too.
Big Sis cornered me now, and went into one of her mock exclamations, “Finally! I wondered when you and McManus would come up for air. You need to get outdoors, Leighton. Go breathe. Get some sun. The weather isgood, you know. Oh, my mistake! Ofcourse,you don't know! You haven't been out in three days.”
I gave her my typical response, “Well, well. For aleft-brainedattorney, you sure do stand-upcomedylike a pro!”
That was usually the way Big Sis took care of me. I went up to my place for a shower and fresh clothes before going out.
I hadn’t even looked at the time as I headed out. I walked towards the bakery since that was the shortest way to the park. Maybe I’d pop in and say h …
I froze in my tracks. There was Samantha, being kissed on the cheek by a buff, good-looking dark-haired guy who had his arms around her!
Oh, boy. My heart sank to my feet.
It had never even occurred to me that the beautiful baker was married. Or had a boyfriend. I was so taken with her since that day in her kitchen, our dinner together, and our few chats since then, that such a question never even came to mind.
I decided to change direction, went back past my building, and took the long way to the park.
I guess I wouldn't be asking the baker out for dinner anymore.
I wouldnotgo barging in on someone else's romance. Nope. Not happenin’.
The beautiful baker went right onto the Do Not Touch list. Right onto the Off Limits list. Right onto the Stop Thinking About Her list.
It was that last list that was going to be the hardest.
Why is it that the human beast always wants what it cannot have?
I moped and mooned all afternoon and into the evening.
Then I caught myself. I’m a solutions guy! There’s gotta be a solution here, right? Don’t focus on the problem. Go for the solution.
Wrong. Samantha was with someone else. The solution was just “stay away”. But that felt so wrong!
I’d just found her and … gone. She was gone.
I decided I needed to talk this problem out with someone. I called Dad.
